Secretary-General Kofi Annan warned United Nations member states not to use him as an excuse for their own inaction in helping to protect more than a million people caught up in fighting in western Sudan.
He again raised the possibility of international intervention to help protect civilians in Darfur where Arab militias, believed to be backed by the government, have been attacking the black African population.
”It is the responsibility of the government to protect, but if the government can’t do it, it should be prepared to ask for the help of the international community to assist them,” Annan said on Monday.
”And the international community must insist that these people be protected.”
The United Nations was strongly criticised for its failure to prevent the 1994 Rwanda genocide. In an interview with UN radio and UN television on the launch of a new radio programme for Africa, Annan said it wasn’t ”entirely fair” to say the United Nations is doing too little, too late in the Darfur crisis.
”What is needed here is a collective action and the political will to act,” he said.
”We should avoid the situations where we allow member states to hide behind the secretary-general, use him as an alibi for their own inaction,” Annan stressed.
The secretary-general is planning to visit Sudan soon to make a first-hand assessment of the situation in Darfur, where the United Nations said recently the number of people in acute need of food and medical help has nearly doubled from 1,2-million to 2-million.
”I think it is important that we work together and demand action by the Sudanese government and we pool our efforts to make resources available for the humanitarian activity. And it’s much better to act than start pointing fingers,” Annan said.
He said he had been talking to the Sudanese government but ”other countries with influence must also weigh in”.
”It was because of my pressure that they opened up and offered visas, not only to the UN, but also to the humanitarian agencies and have indicated they will allow supplies and equipment to come in unimpeded,” Annan said.
But UN spokesperson Fred Eckhard said the Sudanese government was still holding up some visas and impeding the delivery of some aid and equipment.
Last week, Annan said the United Nations had asked the Sudanese government to take steps to contain the Arab militias, known as the Janjaweed. He said the government denies any complicity in the militia attacks, ”but from all accounts they can do something about the Janjaweed”.
While the crisis in Darfur continues, an agreement ending a 21-year civil war between government forces and rebels in southern Sudan is expected to be finalised shortly.
Annan warned that ”unless we deal with the situation in Darfur this is going to be a fragile peace”.
”You cannot have a comprehensive peace in Sudan without dealing with the situation in the west,” he stressed.
Earlier this month, the Security Council adopted a resolution giving the United Nations a green light to start planning to send UN peacekeepers to monitor implementation of the agreement in the south once it is finalised.
On Monday, a Sudanese government delegation left for Germany for peace talks with representatives of the rebels in Darfur, a Cabinet minister said in Khartoum, the Sudanese capital.
The talks, arranged by German mediators, were expected to begin on Tuesday in Berlin, Agriculture Minister Majzoub al-Khalifa Ahmad told reporters.
The talks aim to ”find a final solution to the Darfur crisis, stop the bloodshed and bring peace to the region,” Ahmad said.
On Saturday, Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir ordered the military to begin disarming all militia groups. – Sapa-AP